Automatic installation for the composition and the continuous printing of small texts

ABSTRACT

An automatic installation for the composition and continuous printing of small texts, including a console having a screen and a control keyboard, and a microcomputer for processing instructions transmitted by the keyboard and for transmitting them partly to the screen and partly to a printer for printing the text composed onto a medium. The microcomputer additionally manages the whole of the installation and the interaction between the latter and the user. The printer is a printer of the graphics type. The composition proper of the text to be printed is managed by a program adapted to this end and loaded into the memory of the microcomputer. The whole of the text to be printed is previously composed by the user with the aid of a program stored in the microcomputer before being printed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a novel automatic installation for thecomposition and the continuous printing of small texts, especially suchas visiting cards. It also relates to an installation of the type inquestion for composition and continuous printing in traditional format,and especially in A4 type format.

Small printing machines have already been available for a long time,making it possible for non-professionals to rapidly print small texts.However, although widely used, these installations require staff and arenot as rapid as the consumer would wish.

An automatic installation has been described in the document FR-A-2 576437 in which the user types in on a keyboard the elements which he wantsto see appear on the visiting cards, menus, etc., by showing theseelements on a screen. This installation additionally comprises a printerwhich prints on a medium of paper of relatively heavy weight, stored inthe form of a reel, the text composed by the user. A computer managesthe operation of the machine and of the printer. However, whileconstituting significant progress with respect to the known devices,this installation does not make it possible to compose the page layoutat leisure and allows only one type of format.

Then in the French patent FR-A-2 621 153 an automatic installation ofthe same type has been described, incorporating similar elements to thepreceding installation, but in which the printer is able to pivot by 90°so as to be able to permit printing of texts according to at least twoformats perpendicular to each other. Nevertheless, the page layoutremains fixed, so that choice for the user remains very limited.

In addition, no installation is known of the type in question which isable to permit, on demand, the production of texts or parts of texts inA4 format, in a variable series and in a short timeframe.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention aims to diminish all of these different drawbacks. Itprovides an integrated automatic installation for the composition andthe continuous printing of small texts or parts of texts, comprising:

a console comprising:

a screen, intended for displaying the operating instructions and showingthe composed text;

a control keyboard, intended for transmitting the operating instructionsand for composing the text to be printed;

a microcomputer including an interface able to permit the exchange ofdata between the screen and keyboard on the one hand, and themicrocomputer on the other hand, the microcomputer being intended forprocessing the instructions transmitted by the keyboard, and fortransmitting them partly to the screen and to a printer intended forprinting the composed text onto a medium, the microcomputer beingadditionally intended for managing the whole of the installation and theinteraction between the latter and the user.

This installation is characterized:

in that the printer is a printer of the graphics type, in which printingis managed frame by frame by the microcomputer, in the memory of whichare previously stored, in digital form, one or more character fonts,each printed character corresponding to a plurality of frames, in eachof which a defined sequence of pixels, stored in the form of digitalsignals, permits the final restoration of the character in question,

in that the composition proper of the text to be printed is managed by aprogram adapted to this end and loaded into the memory of themicrocomputer,

and in that the whole of the text to be printed is previously composedby the user with the aid of the program, then is downloaded into abuffer memory associated with the microcomputer which is able to managethe printing of this text by downloading into the memory of the printer,in step with the printing, the digital signals corresponding to eachsuccessive frame of the printer, representing the set of pixels to bereproduced on the medium.

Put another way, the invention consists in providing a means able toshow the composition of the text to be produced which, as a function ofcharacter fonts stored in digital form in memory, manages the totalspace of the document, so that any type of printing can be obtainedaccording to several possible formats, and this in both directions, i.e.transversely as well as longitudinally on the medium.

The production of character fonts in digital form is carried out byscanning of each of the fonts at actual size, resulting in a digitizedimage of each of the characters, then by reduction of the format byconversion, possibly completed by individual manual finishing for eachof the characters.

According to one advantageous embodiment of the invention, theinstallation comprises a payment member constituted by an electroniccoin box, able to identify the coins and to transmit this information tothe microcomputer via the interface, which then subtracts the sumsactually inserted.

According to another form of embodiment of the invention, theinstallation comprises a steerable camera, able to photograph anindividual, typically the user, then to transmit the image obtained to adigitizing card connected to the microcomputer, transmitting theinformation to the printer, so as thereby to produce texts withportraits.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the printer of theinstallation comprises lateral gripping members for the paper medium,constituted by guides thus permitting use of great varieties of media,i.e. media of variable width.

The graphics-type printer of the invention has a quality of between tenand fifteen points per millimeter.

The graphics printer prints thermally, on a continuous web unrolled froma reel, a paper medium also in the form of a reel, the reel beingsectioned to required dimensions and comprising a preprinted backgroundcomplete with characters of different colors and/or a logo.

The installation additionally comprises a scanner intended:

for analyzing the surface of a sheet incorporating predeterminedpatterns introduced by the operator;

for digitizing this analysis and transmitting the digital information tothe microcomputer via the interface, so that the latter gives the orderto the printer to print it at a site which has been previously selectedby the operator, or previously selected in the microcomputer.

According to one advantageous form of this installation, the selectionof the place of printing of the pattern or of the logo is carried out bymeans of an XY control plane. Moreover, the size of the pattern or ofthe logo to be printed is adjusted by means of a potentiometer or alinear cursor constituting an enlargement-reduction control associatedwith the console.

The manner in which the invention can be produced and the advantageswhich flow from it will better appear from the example of embodimentwhich follows, given by way of a non-limiting example in support of theattached figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective outline view of an installation in accordancewith the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram representation of the console which ischaracteristic of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a more detailed diagrammatic representation of this console;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic outline perspective representation of anotherembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an outline sectional view of another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is an outline block diagram representation of the operation ofthe installation in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The automatic integrated installation for the composition and thecontinuous printing of small texts in accordance with the inventionand/or parts of texts, comprises on the one hand, a panel designated bythe general reference (1), comprising a flap (3) of, for example,concave shape, exhibiting different models (5, 6, 7) of composition,offered for reproduction as well as (8) the essential operatinginstructions.

The installation also comprises a console designated by the generalreference (10), arranged just below the panel. This console, whichexhibits on its upper part (11) a screen (12) intended to display theoperating instructions and to show the composed text, also comprises acontrol keyboard (13), intended for transmitting the operatinginstructions and for composing the text to be printed. Put another way,the keyboard-screen assembly constitutes the interaction member betweenthe user and the installation. The screen (12) is of the black-and-whitetype, but of high resolution. Nevertheless, a color screen of 640×480lines can be envisioned.

The keyboard (13) can be produced in any known way. It can, for example,be a capacitive or mechanical keyboard, or advantageously be a keyboardconstituted by superimposed plates with a membrane.

The console (10) also comprises a payment member (14) such as anelectric coin box of the NRI type with a vertical slot situated in avertical plane, in order to avoid vandalism and the insertion of foreignbodies other than coins. It can moreover be coupled to a banknote readerof the LANDIS-GYR type. This electronic coin box is intended, in a knownway, to detect and identify predetermined coins, transmitting these datato a microcomputer (15), which then subtracts the sums actually insertedand, when the total is correct, engages the operating process.

The keyboard (13) comprises a series of keys respectively:

(16) corresponding to the different letters of the alphabet, namely inupper and in lower case; if necessary, the keyboard can also incorporateother signs, such as accents, diaeresis, etc.;

(17) numbers;

(18) punctuation;

and three control keys (19, 20, 21) respectively for correction (19),spacing (20) and validation (21).

The installation internally comprises the microcomputer (15) alreadymentioned, linked by an interface (22) respectively to the coin box(14), to the keyboard (13) and to the screen (12).

In an advantageous and known way, the interface (22) is integral withthe microcomputer (15). It transmits the signals output by the coinbox(14), by the keyboard (13) and by the screen (12), rendering themcompatible with the microcomputer (15). In one embodiment, the assemblycan be constituted by a specific electronic card.

The microcomputer (15) of the compatible type exhibits a rapid cycletime with a memory of at least a megabyte as well as an integraldiskette reader, which is not shown. This diskette reader is intended toreceive a diskette containing a program, which is loaded when power isapplied. This microcomputer (15) is linked to a thermal printer (25), ofthe type known per se, especially for printing characters, in graphicsmode. Advantageously, a printer marketed by TEC under type number B 402is used, having a definition of 10 points per millimeter, and a methodof printing by thermal transfer. This printer designated by the generalreference (25), is fundamentally constituted by a reel (26) for supplyof a web of paper of specific weight and in a continuous form (27) (FIG.3). It also comprises an apparatus for thermal film, respectively a reelfor supply (28) and for reception (29) of the thermal film (30). Theprint head (31) constituted by a row of needles, comes into contact withthe web (27) and by selection and heating of the appropriate needles,induces the deposit of ink onto the paper, frame by frame. Thecontinuous movement of the paper medium (27) and of the film (30) at thelevel of the print head (31) permits production of the text to beprinted. The production of a character requires a plurality of printingframes. A cutting member (32) divides the texts at the desired length.These cut texts are received in a receptacle (33). By appropriateadjustment, especially by means of a roller reel, multiple lengths ofcut of the web (27) can be obtained, for example five centimeters for avisiting card, ten centimeters for menus, etc.

Moreover, the printer incorporates lateral gripping members for the web(27) of paper which are fitted with sliders, making it possible to usewebs of different widths, and bringing about the automatic centering ofthe web with respect to the center of the print head (31) of theprinter.

In one variant of the invention represented in FIG. 4, the console (10)receives a camera (60) which is steerable in a hemisphere, intended forphotographing the operator. This camera (60) acquires the image of theindividual and transmits it to a digitizing card (not shown) associatedwith the microcomputer (15), which transmits this digitized image in itsturn to the printer (25). Thus texts combined with portraits can beproduced, and especially personalized visiting cards or entry cards.

Advantageously, the thermal printer (46) is equipped with an economizerof thermal film. This economizer, of the type which is also known,relies on the principle of disengagement of the said printer if aspecific length of thermal film is not demanded from the latter. Infact, the printer restarts during the following demand in order toresume printing. Thus, it is then possible to print a text on any partof the sheet, especially as a heading or on the contrary at the foot ofa page, without requiring the unrolling of the thermal film for all ofthe center of the page. In that way, this printer is completely adaptedto the context of production of headed stationery, commercialstationery, especially invoices, order forms, etc. In addition, it issometimes desirable to include information of a commercial nature alsoat the foot of a sheet, such as the SIREN or SIRET number, the APE code,etc.

Finally, the printer can advantageously be coupled to a folding machine,capable of folding the sheets after printing into two, three or evenfour folds.

According to one important characteristic of the invention, thedifferent character fonts submitted to the choice of the user are storedin the memory of the microcomputer. The data in numerical form stored bythis memory are obtained in the following manner. The process first ofall involves selection of a type of characters. The latter arecharacterized by their size, also known as body, their stress, in otherwords their greater or lesser contrast and finally their shape. Each ofthe characters of a single font is then scanned, that is to say isdecomposed by scanning by a matrix of photosensitive cells into acertain number of pixels, the sequence of which, representing thecharacter, is itself digitized. After digitizing, these differentcharacters undergo reduction by conversion by means of an imageprocessing program which is known for this application, and next theyare then displayed on a screen, able to permit the character to beviewed, that is to say to show it after digitizing. They can then berefined manually; put another way it is possible, on a coarser matrixthan the scanning matrix, produced on the screen, to modify the digitalsignal corresponding to such and such a pixel with a view to perfectingthe shape of a character on a coarser scale. This coarser scale in factcorresponds to the printing matrix.

Once this format of each of the characters of a single font has beenobtained, each font is stored in the form of bytes in the memory of themicrocomputer, this being done under a specific reference.

In that way, when a specified character font is selected by the user,the sequence of characters corresponding to the composed text to beprinted is printed by successive scannings by the printer frame by frameon the paper (27) which is moving, that is to say by printing for eachframe of the sequence of pixels representing the totality of thegraphical points of a line of text for the frame in question. During theprinting of one frame, the memory of the printer is loaded with the nextframe from the buffer memory of the microcomputer. At the end of a scan,the paper medium as well as the thermal film advances by one step,corresponding to the spacing of the next frame with a view to permittingthe production of the totality of the characters, then of the composedtext.

Moreover, the composition of the text proper, put another way thedistribution onto the medium, is defined by the user and managed by aprogram adapted for the purpose and loaded into the microcomputer. Thiscomposition is loaded in a buffer memory of the microcomputer with whichthe totality of the different fields is filled. In that way line-by-linemanagement of the printer is made possible, so that a final text whichis printed along one or the other of the two perpendicular directionscan be obtained, directions corresponding respectively to the directionof movement of the paper, or to a direction which is perpendicular tothis direction, taking account of this overall management of thecomposition.

In FIG. 6 is represented an outline block diagram of the operation ofthe printer, in accordance with the invention. As already said, thekeyboard (13) makes it possible to establish the interaction between theuser and the microcomputer (15). It can especially select the format,the type of characters, and the direction of printing. Moreover, ititself composes the composition of the text, with the aid of a programadapted for the purpose (50), loaded into the memory of themicrocomputer (15). This program first of all selects, at theinstigation of the user, the character font adopted in the memory (51)on the one hand, with a view to the downloading of this font into thememory (52) of the screen (12), in order to permit showing the text, andpossibly going on to make corrections. In the same way, it selects thissame font in the memory (53), with a view to downloading this font intothe buffer memory (54) of the microcomputer, in which memory the text iscomposed. The contents of this buffer memory (54) are downloaded frameby frame into the memory (55) of the printer, so that it proceeds withthe printing frame by frame, as previously described.

The automatic integrated installation of the invention operates in thefollowing manner. It is initialized by the insertion of coins into thecoin box (14) to a total which is determined with respect to the choiceby the user. This initialization is indicated by the display on thescreen (12) of a message indicating the course to follow. The user firstof all has to choose, at the instigation of the messages on the screen,the type of card. Once this choice has been carried out, the uservalidates it via the "enter" key (21).

He then has to choose the character font which he also validates via thesame "enter" key (21).

He then goes on, still at the instigation of the messages on the screen(12), whose sequences are themselves managed by the computer (15), tointroducing the text which he wants or his address, telephone numberetc. in the case of the production of visiting cards. Each new item ofdata is validated by the "enter" key (21). When the whole of the text isfinished, and when its composition is arranged according to his wishes,verification is requested from the user who, if he accepts the proposedtext and the composition indicated on the screen (12), validates it viathe "enter" key. In the opposite case, he goes on to make thecorrections which he wants by means of the correction key (19) beforevalidation.

According to the type of format chosen, and according to the length ofthe text envisioned, the first card will appear in the receptacle (33)after a time lapse of between 7 and 60 seconds. Then the following cardswill appear at a rate of one every one or two seconds.

In the embodiment represented within FIG. 5, the printer (46) isequipped in accordance with the invention with a sheet-by-sheet loader(47), in which is placed A4 format paper. This loader (47) is amotorized loader, of the type used in photocopiers, and is equipped atits upper level with a sensitive or cellular detector, associated with apaper takeup roller (48) situated at the level of the lower region ofthe printer (46). In fact, the driving of the loader brings about theraising of the plate (49) which constitutes the loader, moving thenalong the arrow A so as to bring the top sheets to the level of thedetector. This detector transmits the data concerning the detection ofthe paper to the printer, itself connected and managed by themicrocomputer, in such a way that if the total quantity of paper isinsufficient, the operating process of printing cannot start. Theoperation of this mode of embodiment is similar to that previouslydescribed.

The installation according to the invention exhibits numerous advantageswhich result essentially from the fact that it is constituted by anintegrated assembly which is entirely automatic and does not need staffother than staff for maintenance and supply of consumable materials. Inaddition, the different formats and types of printing obtained by meansof the dedicated management of the printer, permit a very large choiceto be obtained, very rapidly and at a modest price.

I claim:
 1. An integrated automatic installation which interacts with auser to compose and continuously print small texts or parts of texts,said installation comprising:a console comprising a screen fordisplaying operating instructions for the installation and showing thecomposed text, and a control keyboard for transmitting the operatinginstructions and for composing the text to be printed; a microcomputerincluding interface means for permitting exchange of data between thescreen and keyboard, and between the microcomputer and the keyboard,said microcomputer including processing means for processinginstructions transmitted by the keyboard, and transmitting means fortransmitting said instructions partly to the screen and partly to aprinter for printing the composed text onto a paper medium, saidmicrocomputer further including managing means for managing the whole ofthe installation and interaction between the installation and the user;said printer being a graphics type printer, wherein printing is managedframe by frame by the microcomputer, in the memory of which arepreviously stored, in digital form, one or more character fonts, eachprinted character corresponding to a plurality of frames, in each ofwhich a defined sequence of pixels, stored in the form of digitalsignals, permits the final restoration of the character in question;wherein (i) the composition proper of the text to be printed is managedby a program adapted to this end and loaded into the memory of themicrocomputer, (ii) the whole of the text to be printed is previouslycomposed by the user with the aid of said program, and (iii) the wholeof the text is then downloaded into a buffer memory associated with themicrocomputer which manages the printing of this text by downloadinginto the memory of the printer, in step with the printing, the digitalsignals corresponding to each successive frame to be printed,representing the set of pixels to be reproduced on the paper medium. 2.The installation of claim 1, wherein the production of character fontsin digital form is carried out by scanning each font at actual size,resulting in a digitized image of each of the characters, then byreduction of the characters by conversion, optionally completed byindividual manual finishing for each of the characters.
 3. Theinstallation of claim 1, further comprising a payment member includingan electronic coin box for identifying coins and transmitting thisinformation to the microcomputer via the interface, which payment memberthen subtracts the sums actually inserted.
 4. The installation of claim1, further comprising a steerable camera for photographing anindividual, especially the user, and then transmitting the imageobtained to a digitizing card connected to the microcomputer, which inturn transmits the information to the printer, so as thereby to producetexts with portraits.
 5. The installation of claim 1, wherein theprinter further comprises lateral gripping members for the paper medium,constituted by guides, able in addition to permit the centering of thepaper medium with respect to the print head of the printer.
 6. Theinstallation of claim 1, wherein the graphics printer has a line qualityof between ten and fifteen points per millimeter.
 7. The installation ofclaim 1, wherein the graphics printer prints thermally, on a continuousweb unrolled from a reel, and the paper medium is also in the form of areel which is sectioned to required dimensions and comprises apreprinted background complete with at least one of characters ofdifferent colors and a logo.
 8. The installation of claim 1, furthercomprising a scanner for analyzing the surface of a sheet incorporatingpredetermined patterns introduced by the user and for digitizing thisanalysis and transmitting the digital information to the microcomputervia the interface, so that the microcomputer gives the order to theprinter to print the patterns at a site which has been previouslyselected by the user, or previously selected in the microcomputer. 9.The installation of claim 8, wherein the selection of the place ofprinting of the pattern is carried out by means of an XY control plane,and the size of the pattern to be printed is adjusted by means of anenlargement-reduction command associated with the console.
 10. Theinstallation of claim 1, wherein the printer, controlled by themicrocomputer, further comprises a sheet-by-sheet loader.